DALLAS (February 11th ) – Despite the coldest temperatures of what had been a relatively mild winter in North Texas, the first stop of the 2006 Texas Wakeboard Tour was, by all accounts, a huge success.

Presented by Malibu Boats, the “party” was billed as a pro wakeboard event…Texas style and even though the temperatures dipped into the low 30’s, an enthusiastic crowd packed the main parking lot of Gilley’s honky-tonk, just south of downtown Dallas to see what it was all about! They were rewarded by witnessing firsthand some of the most insane, “polar” wakeboard rail jamming action to date. The riding was awesome, the wrecks were spectacular, the crowd was pumped and nobody got hurt! It was all good!

The event featured some of the top riders in the state including Brian Sasser, Richie McKee, Joey Bradley, Joey Arcisz., Tom Fooshee, Gabe Lucas, Kyle Reed and Brett Little. Arkansas ripper, Andrew Dyrhood was also on hand. They were joined by an impressive line-up of top pro riders including Brian Grubb, Chad Sharpe, Shane Bonifay, Tino Santori and George Daniels. And to top it all off…the guy “driving” the winch was non-other then wakeboarding king-pin Scott Byerly.

The format was more of an open jam session / demo then an actual contest, but there was a big, custom made, rodeo style trophy belt buckle up for grabs. While everyone put it on the line in very extreme conditions, George Daniels flawless 360, on what had become an icy rail, garnered him a “first place” finish and the custom Boardshorts, Bulls & Bikini’s buckle. Shane Bonifay’s signature nose-press was voted as the second best effort and Chad Sharpes front lip 270 to front lip narrowly edged out Joey Bradley’s huge gap to the middle of the landing pool for third.

After the outdoor festivities, everyone headed inside to see the riders battle it out on Gilley’s legendary mechanical-bull. Many took a worse beating on the bull then they did on the frozen tundra of the rail jam. When the dust settled, it was the Canadian Cowboy, Chad Sharpe, who took home the second BBB trophy belt buckle of the evening after a ride of almost 40 seconds!